September 8, 2013 12:51 pm

Seattle Seahawks’ Jermaine Kearse (15) celebrates his touchdown catch against the Carolina Panthers during the second half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

CHARLOTTE — Well, that wasn’t pretty.

The Seattle Seahawks struggled to move the ball on the ground, but played better in the second half to defeat the Carolina Panthers 12-7 at Bank of America Stadium in the season opener for both teams.

Russell Wilson found Jermaine Kearse deep for a 43-yard scoring strike to put Seattle ahead for good, with just over 10 minutes left in the game.

Wilson made plays when he needed to, finishing 25 of 33 for 320 yards, including the touchdown pass to Kearse. He also was sacked two times, including a strip fumble by Carolina defensive end Charles Johnson that negated a good scoring chance late in the first half.

But the key play came late in the game, when the Seahawks stopped a possible winning drive by forcing Carolina running back DeAngelo Williams to fumble on the Seattle’s own 7-yard line. Richard Sherman jarred the ball loose, and defensive tackle Tony McDaniel recovered with a little over five minutes left in the game.

Marshawn Lynch finished with just 43 rushing yards on 17 carries.

Sunday’s win over the Panthers was Seattle’s first on the road since a 9-6 win at Detroit to open up the 2006 season. The Seahawks are now 4-6 in road season openers since 2000.

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Gregg Bell joined The News Tribune in July 2014. Bell had been the director of writing for the University of Washington's athletic department for four years. He was the senior national sports writer in Seattle for The Associated Press from 2005-10, covering the Seahawks in their first Super Bowl season and beyond. He's also been The Sacramento Bee's beat writer on the Oakland Athletics and Raiders. The native of Steubenville, Ohio, is a 1993 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and a 2000 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.

I knew this would be ugly, and it was, however the offensive and defensive lines looked even worse than I feared. Wilson continues to show that he is the real deal, sure he made some mistakes but he came up clutch.

Anybody thinking that the Hawks could try to unload Rice? I mean, he’s a very good player and all and I really like him, but if Baldwin and Kearse can continue to perform is he really worth his contract? Several teams could use a receiver.

nothing wrong with a road win against anyone on opening day. and I think Carolina is going to be a decent team this year.

defense was ultimately very very good today. one score, under 250 total yards for Carolina.

Tate’a first down at the end was huge. need to keep getting the ball in his hands. great catch by Kearse on the TD too. I’m gonna reserve judgement on our run game until I see how other teams do against that Carolina front. they looked tough to me.

It was like SEA’s offense kinda muddled through the first 3 quarters and then switched it to ‘on’ in the 4th. The ref’s had some troubles, but that was a very good CAR team for SEA to come out with a win. CAR outplayed SEA for 3 quarters, but you don’t win the game in the first 3 qtrs!

Russell Wilson got us a win, despite all the pressure he was under. Our O-line didn’t impress. The D made some mistakes, but got a key turnover just when it was needed. But we’re 1-0 to start the season, which beats the alternative.

10am start on the East Coast, season opener on the road, against a team with a good front 7 and a mobile QB with a cannon arm…

Wilson goes 75% completion for 320 yards, 1 TD and no picks with his OL providing almost no pass protection.

Yep, I’ll take that.

Seahawks teams of years gone by blow this game. This team didn’t.

Also, anyone else paying attention to the RB scrolls at the bottom today? Everyone was having tough time getting yards except Peterson. First week of the real season. Rushing yards were just hard to come by.

And Wilson sure throws a beautiful deep ball.

Considering we have a few more of these East Coast 10am starts to deal with this year, I’m pretty happy with this. We forced some key turnovers, and Wilson made some critical plays. Baldwin had a great day and Tate was electric.

Ok for all the talk about how how bad Oak and NYJ were going to be this season, the Jets win an Oak goes on the road for a 21-17 loss. KC showed much better than they were last season, but Jax looks BAD! especially on Offense

STTBM – Aren’t we supposed to be on the same side? Or is it just fun to hate on your own? And, yes, I’d still take WTIII and believe in him. If he was so terrible, how’d the defense only give up 7 points with no pass rush?

ET is a great player. Great players create their own luck. His strip, after being fooled, on Williams was the case of a great player making a great play and one of the plays of the day. Sure, we can say it’s luck, but why is it that great players seem to have more luck than average players?

I think our offensive game plan was terrible. Waaay too much single back/pistol formations. I’m not sure if they are just lost without having a good fullback or if they thought something would be there that wasn’t. But in either case it was terrible.

In addition to that, RW held the ball too long an numerous occasions. Again it may have been because the plays called for deeper routes but if that is so then shame on the coaching staff for not adjusting at halftime.

Somebody get STTBM a beer, good lord. That pass to Williams was not overthrown. Had he not put it out in front of him the DB would’ve had a chance at it. Was it an easy catch? No, but it’s a catch an NFL receiver should make 8-9 times out of 10. I guess you missed the throw to Kearse the next play? The unbelievable throw to Baldwin on the sideline?

Thurmond played fine. You act as if BB never gives up a completion. He does all the time. I guess you’ve forgotten him getting burned deep against Washington to lose the lead? Burned repeatedly versus Pitt? I like BB, but be realistic man.

We all know the o-line was bad, but they played much, much better in pass protection for most of the second half. Another week or 2 and Sweeze will be riding the pine.

Ultimately it was a win on the road at 10 am. I’ll take that any week. Next week should be fun. Hoping we at least see some of Clem and Avril.

Bobbyk–how is being honest rather than a homer hating my team?! I believe in WT too, but I’m not the one insanely insisting he’s a better corner than Browner. He isn’t . Not even close. But he will get better.

Seattle played just well enough to beat Carolina–that won’t cut it vs the Niners, even at home. Thurmond gave up a lot of plays, and never once managed to manhandle anyone at the line. RW didn’t play gear despite the stats. I’m not worried about him though.

The turnovers were key, but those don’t happen every week; usually when you play like our d did today, you give up more than 17 points and you lose. So much improvement needed by next Sunday…

Our O-Line needs to get their stuff together before next week. Russ was under pressure almost all day (and needs to work on that “clock” in hie head) and I don’t think I saw any holes for the RBs. Turbin’s long run was due to speed and a great cutback.

I really only saw the 2 “deep balls” and they both looked fine. Every deep pass isn’t going to be on the numbers in stride. I don’t care WHO is throwing it. Williams’ hit him on the hands, maybe just a smidge too far. Kearse went up over the defender and brought it down. Exactly what any receiver should do.

For the most part, it looked to me like the DBs were playing well. Most of Newton’s throws, and Smith’s catches, were completed underneath the coverage.

Side note: SF is looking pretty damn good on this first drive. Admittedly, against GB’s D, but still pretty efficient.

Bbmate–relax. It was great to get the win, but a very sloppy performance all around. Plenty to be worried about though, especially the banged up D-line and the offensive line struggling still.

How can anyone say those deep throws from RW were great–they looked just like Quinn’s under thrown TD to Williams. No shame in that, but I guarantee RW knows those passes weren’t good enough and will be practicing them…

STTBM – I disagree. And both of us can be happy agreeing to disagree. WTIII had the whiff early on that one “tackle,” but he played well (and did give up a few receptions, like every CB in the NFL pretty much). I love him – that’s no secret. How many receptions did he give up today and how many does Browner give up on the average Sunday? If Browner does play next week, you better hope he doesn’t give up a few catches or I’ll let you know about it or are you saying that Browner never gives up receptions?

D gave up 7 against a hot team. Carolina messed up plenty, but give some credit to the gameplan. Next week will be a different plan. The goal is to win. We’re not going to score 40+ points each week. Homers stand down!

hating on your team by over dramatizing pretty much every play/player etc.

Wilson was not always great – but good when we needed him.
The OL struggled early – MIGHTILY – but got protection when we needed it
The Run game was stuffed all day, but we had 1st down runs at the end of the game.

The Defense – didn’t get pressure often but forced some hurried throws late – Would have had a big stop had it not been for 2 big, albiet odd, penalties.

The defense got scorched late in the game and then great teamwork ends up in a TO when we needed it most.

We have a lot of room to grow but I would rather have to grow over the course of the season than just being able to waltz most of the season and then have issues late after not being challenged early

Bbmate–I agree, Williams has to make that catch. But Kearse had to wait on that ball, and had the corner not been beaten so badly, that pass would have been picked. We got very lucky!

The team did a great job battling, and hung on for the win, which is awesome! Just gotta improve on execution and discipline and hopefully get some guys healthy–not having Avril and Clemons and Irvin really hurt us.

The ball was right on regarding Kearse. Not late. This team will not score 30+ point each week. Try and enjoy a 1-0 start of the season. Many things can be improved, be this team faced a very physical, determined team and after getting their asses handed to them for three quarters of game, hung in there and found a way to win. This team is not going 16-0 no matter what we all wish.

I don’t think Williams “has” to make that catch – he should if he wants opportunities but I have seen the likes of Fitz-Jennings-Megatron drop that pass. They catch it more than they miss it but it is not an easy catch.

Right you are xcman. A little adversity early in the season makes the team better prepared for when they face it later on.

They now know they can come from behind, on the road, late in the game. That gives the team the confidence they will need to never give up.

Too many times you can see a team that is struggling late in the game and you see it on their faces that they’ve given up and are accepting defeat.

We didn’t see that from the Seahawks today. It wasn’t going great at all. They were sputtering on offence. There were dumb mistakes on D. But they kept scuffling until they were able to make their own breaks. Even the questionable calls by the refs didn’t get to them like they would have to past Seattle teams.

It’s easy to play with confidence when everything is going your way. It shows the mental toughness of this team to keep battling when nothing seems to be going their way.

If you want a job in the NFL, you make that catch. Megatron can drop it and be good enough to not get cut. Is the same true for Williams? No. If you’re him, you must make that catch because he did nothing else, whereas guys like Fitz and Megatron more than make up for those types of errors during a game if they have them.

Xcman–what did I overdramatize? I feel the same as you regarding our performance–I just articulated examples.

Calling RW’s two deep throws “beautiful” is bad hyperbole. Thankfully they worked, but looking at them, I guarantee RW and the coaches see them as barely adequate. I never said RW sucked, nor am I worried about him going forward: but I stand by my analysis.

Ugly game, but a win.

Tell you what, the niners look a lot more physical, disciplined, and explosive on both sides of the ball than Seattle does. Like I said, Seattle must make some drastic improvements by next Sunday if they want to beat the Niners.

STTBM, I would bet that we all hope they play better next week. Still don’t agree about Wilson. The deep pass to Kearse was pretty good IMO. Could it have been better? Sure. Kearse had to wait a little, but it was placed high and to the outside so that he could go up and get it away from the DBs. You still haven’t commented on that pass to Baldwin on the sideline. I guess you just expect every throw to be perfect? That’s not reality man. Nobody does that. Not Rodgers. Not Brees, Manning or Brady.

Wilson had a couple of bad reads and throws today. However, he’s a stud. Did Elway (the greatest I have ever seen) ever make a bad throw/decision? Yes. These guys are going against professionals who are paid to stop them or make them look bad. While Wilson, from today, certainly has room for improvement, he also played pretty darn well in my eyes. A win is a win. I felt almost as bad for Wilson today as I did for Matt after the ’07 season (with respect to pass protection) into the final years of his career here. It’s tough to be good when you’re getting a blitz after you. Good job, Russ!

Agree BobbyK. Every other WR had at least one i,portent catch that kept a drive going. Williams is on the team for one reason. He’s the designated long ball threat. It would have been a tough catch but it hit him in the hands. Every coach I ever had as a player or have worked with now that I’m in my coaching years will tell you the same thing. If it hits the WR in the hands they should catch it.

Bobby’s–I’m saying Browner is better than Thurmond at playing outside corner. Thurmond can’t jam anyone–BB is the best in the game. And today you saw Sherm getting beaten by double moves and Thurmond giving up catches because there was no BB beating guys up on the line.

BB is much more important to our D than you seem to think. We’re simply not as good with him out. Plus, Thurmond is our best nickel back, and we’re better with him in the slot.

WT has never performed at BB’s level. And bringing up BBs play vs Pitt two years ago is just silly. Bb has limited athleticism, but he brings a unique skill set and is a better outside corner than Thurmond. The tape shows this–did you have Thurmond goggles on or what?

You can blindly insist Thurmond is better despite what everyone can see, but it just looks silly.

Now, if BB plays hurt or loses his speed and gets old, and Thurmond improves a lot, he has the potential to be better than BB. But he still can’t jam or push guys around or tackle anywhere near as well as BB.

The niners are going to arrive next week ready to go. Our guys will have to match the intensity if we want any chance to go 2-0. They are solid and their Oline. We will have to give every drop to have a chance.

STTBM – That is an awesome post with valid reasons why you’re right. Thank you for rising about the childishness (that I started). I still disagree and would take WTIII moving forward but that’s a classy response that makes the blog better! Thank you.

Every year Cable has had a bad OL early and by mid-season it’s doing well. This is probably more of the same. His track record is that his OL sucks early and plays well late (minus the Rams game late last year).

In case you missed it, that makes 6 4th quarter comebacks, 5 in the reg season, for the young career of Mr. Wilson. It would be 7 if the defense hadn’t blown it versus Atl. Yes there were others as well.

STTBM, who here said that RW’s deep throws were “great” or “beautiful”? Maybe your view isn’t that great if you have to resort to straw man arguments to defend it? Screensmoke did call them “perfect” before he somewhat nullified that by calling you a moron.

“I’ve been reading this blog for almost a decade. It never used to be full of such female-like behavior. Show some f-ing class, gentleman. Stinks like a 49′ers blog in here…”

Try showing some class yourself. You completely nullify your point when you insult half the population for no reason. You do realize that there are females that read and post on this blog, right?

BobbyK – I have been complaining about just that!! Why do we have to start at ground zero every year on the OL? I don’t expect them playoff perfect but hey they should retain more from one year to the next than they do

1. I am concerned about both lines; especially the O line as the D line has a legitimate excuse in injuries.

2. Game MVP: Wilson, with a tip of the hat to Kearse.

3 While I’m going to put in stronger language (& I’ve been saying this for years) even the Fox commentators stated several times the unfairness of West Coast teams playing games in the East with a 10 AM start. I strongly feel this practice needs to be banned.

More things looked good than bad on a hot, East Coast morning-opener 3,000 miles away; but I found it very, herky-jerky hard to watch. Carp looked abit livelier though than I’ve seen him, & maybe he’ll finally be able to help strengthen the O-line this year–after they’ve all figured out what to do once again.

Tate, Baldwin, & Kearse looked really good; and IMO it’s too early still to badmouth Rice and Thurmond. Wilson clearly is one of the best things we’ve ever had here at QB–a really adaptably game-smart and talented, who at 24 can play at least as good if not better than any other QB we’ve ever had for long at that position.

And, finally, we may even have more than a 50:50 chance of getting better on the road back East this season. But, the rest of the season is likely to 50:50 close & tight like this all too often, now that the rest of the league has really studied us, which is a compliment, but also sobering in a new way: we’re respectable finally, and clearly a bigger target to take real serious now.

But we’re really, finally getting better like I’ve never seen here before, which is what an East-Coast test is all about: toughly competitive anytime, anywhere. And balanced-deeper like we’ve never seen here: adapting to whatever they can give us…anywhere.

Despite the bad OLine play, I thought #68 had the most entertaining moment of the game when he annoyed the Panther guy who was flagged for a personal foul and got ejected. Skills aside, BG is my favorite player.

While we may not totally agree with everything STTBM is saying, he has backed his opinions up with examples and his thought process for those opinions.

To call him a hater, a moron, and a ‘woman’ for pointing out there are a lot of areas that can and should show improvement doesn’t make him any less of a Seahawks fan.

Yes it was a win. GREAT. But if the team has this same performance next week against a very good SF team we may not be as happy with the result.

I’m sure Pete and the coaches are going to have the opportunity to use today’s game film as a great teaching tool to show the guys how, where, and why they played poorly and exactly what they need to do to improve.

I thought rw’s deep balls were pretty good. If Williams hauls in the long one, then would that pass have been beautiful?
Kearse s pass was good, high where it needed to be.

I didn’t spend any time watching wheezy, did he do ok? It sure seemed like the oline wasn’t doing well, but before I blindly blame sweeze, I trout I’d ask. I did see him whiff once though, but overall, how was he?

Carp seemed to do ok too, so that’s a plus…

Carolina’s front 7 is really tough.

Considering we were without 4 starters on defense, I trout they did pretty darn well…

Bbmate–read ChrisHolmes comment; “Wilson are throws a beautiful deep ball”. That was what I was referencing. And then everyone got all over dramatic and decided ever pass Wilson throws is the neatest most awesomest, and whoever says different is a big Seahawks hating jerk…

The deep pass to Kearse was late–rewatch the play; Kearse had to slow down to get the ball. And while Williams should have caught the ball, it was slightly overthrown; had he hit Williams in stride, it’s a TD; as it was, even if Williams catches it it’s not a TD because RW made a 6′-5″ WR lay out for it; anyway you slice it, an overthrow.

And RW would totally say the same thing. He will get better BECAUSE he doesn’t blindly call his passes beatiful. It’s his attention to detail and perfectionism that makes him great.

So if Seattle has this same performance next week do you honestly think they beat the 49rs?

How is pointing out the obvious flaws and hoping for improvement somehow being irrational and not being a true fan?

This is why I left the blog last year around this time. Unless every word you type is sunshine happiness and exclaiming how completely wonderful very Seahawk player is you are not a true fan.

They won today. Good for them and the season. But today’s performance isn’t going to get them to the SB. STTBM just has the intestinal fortitude to sate the obvious while everyone else wants to pretend the Seahawks looked just honky dorry today.

I say you are more ut of line than STTBM is, and I don’t necessarily agree with all his comments.

You were one of the posters that drove me away last year and I see you haven’t matured at all over the last 12 months.

STTBM, even though that’s not specifically saying that a particular deep throw was beautiful, I did miss that. Point for you. Still, most people here aren’t saying that they were perfect or great. I do think they were significantly better than adequate though. Especially the one to Williams. It’s subjective. And I didn’t get over dramatic and attack you. I can’t speak for others. I just disagree. You certainly have a right to your opinion, as does everyone else.

It’s not silly to say that Thurmond will be better than BB. It’s two opposing opinions. Yours is no more of a fact than BobbyK’s. I would agree that Thurmond has never played to the same level that BB has for an extended period of time. I do believe he has the ability to be the better ALL AROUND CB if he remains healthy.

And bringing up games where BB was burned is not silly either. He gave up the game winner versus Washington. What you you say about it had it been Thurmond in coverage? BB is not perfect. He has deficiencies. And I like BB a lot. I think he is one of the better corners in the NFL, one of the best for this system.

Mocarob–it’s not the disagreeing I have a problem with; it’s the lack of an explanation behind the countering opinion, and the rudeness.

Chuck and Bobbyk–Thanks for staying classy.

Bobbyk–no worries. I always like discussing football with you. I think you are a bit on the Faith koolaid regarding Thurmond, and devalue BB too much, but usually you back up your opinions well and that makes discussion fun. That and you see stuff I miss sometimes.

Besides, I used some harsh words regarding your opinion the other day. I will try to use less aggro language. I hope you know the words were not directed at you, just your stated opinion.

No Thomas didnt have the III on his jersey last year because the NFL didn’t allow such things until the ‘chosen one’ came into the league. You can’t allow you know who to do it and stop everyone else. So now you see JR, III SR ( in Titus Young’s case) ans such because you know who was given permission to use III on his jersey.

I think STTBM would get less flak if he mixed in more positive things about the Hawks. He can come off as a bit of a Debbie Downer. That said, I don’t have a problem with talking about areas that need improvement after a win. Just sprinkle in a few things that the team did right. And STTBM did get some undeserved attacks. There was no need to get personal.

STTBM, of course those deep balls weren’t PERFECT. People are not perfect. Nothing necessarily is. I’m sure RW wants to make a perfect throw every time, but that doesn’t make his throws barely adequate. Well spit, if nothing else you must have a really good QB if he goes 25-33 for 320 yards and a touchdown for a 115.7 QB rating while being harassed for much of the game and people here are complaining.

In case anybody missed it, Mike Pereira said that the refs effed up the enforcement on those offsetting personal fouls in the SF-GB game. Since both were dead ball fouls, the play should’ve counted and it would’ve been 4th and 2. Instead it was 3rd and 6. SF went on to score a TD. You’re welcome Harbarf, you whiny, little punk.

He should say what he means. Even though we know what he was trying to say.

Wilson had game one on the road won last year too, except for two drops in the end zone. Nice to see Kearse stepping up with the big catch today, one play after the drop by the rookie. You gotta love Wilson’s accuracy with the deep ball.

All this turmoil and no Yanker? It’s still a win right.
Look, expectations are off the charts. We all love this team and want them to go 16-0 and then 3-0 in playoffs. Not gonna happen people. Except the win against one of the best D fronts we will play all season. Carolina played as well as they can and still lost. We are 1-0 and did what good teams do. Win tough games. Win by standing up and staying strong. Not letting luck dictate the outcome.
Deep breath and enjoy the rest of sunday. Cheer up fellas.

Bbmate–Thurmond has never played a game at the NFL level that meets the avg starting game for BB. Bringing up one bad game–from two years ago, BB’s what? Third starting game doesn’t compute. Plus, ThurmOnd can’t jam or tackle or force fumbles like BB, who is among the best int game at that.

Sure, like I said WT may become a better cover corner, but he doesn’t have the size/strength to do what BB does. And too many undervalue what BB does for this D.

I saw enough of Rice here in MN to know we weren’t getting a vertical burner at WR – that’s why I don’t hate on him for that – b/c I know that’s not his game and it never was. When our regime signed him, they knew for a fact that he wasn’t going to blow by people for 50 yard passes on a regular basis. It’s almost like overpaying for Chone Figgins and expecting him to hit 25 HRs per season – just ain’t gonna happen.

It’s a W
U G L Y we aint got no alibi was UGLY but a W
O line wow needs a ton of improvement especially at Guard. Saw Carp took a few plaus off and we lost yards due to it
D line injured but we expect more think they should have done better.
End of Game Crunch time O started clicking looked better.
Lots to Improve but I’ll Take an Ugly win any day over a pretty loss.

NFL must want the Whiners to succeed.
The Refs Seriously BLEW a call which could end up costing the Crappers the Game.
Offsetting Dead ball penalties are not a replay of the down should have been a FG attempt but nooo next play TD. 4 point swing is you assume they make the FG

but he doesn’t have the size/strength to do what BB does. And too many undervalue what BB does for this D.

While this is true – it doesn’t mean that WT3 isn’t a good player or valuable to this team – just doesn’t bring the same strengths and have different weaknesses. You like what BB brings to the team, so do I but I also like what Thurmond brings to the team. We give him Tru and a few other players crap because of where they are on certain plays in the defense that is called. positioning isn’t always the fault of the player it might be the fault of the scheme

STTBM, I disagree that Thurmond has never played a NFL game up to the average play of BB, but I agree that he will never be able to press like BB. I simply think he has the ABILITY to be a better ALL AROUND corner if he stays healthy. Doesn’t mean he will. We might as well agree to disagree. We just have differing opinions. And I don’t think they’re actually that different. I have a lower opinion of BB than you and possibly think Thurmond has a higher ceiling than you do. And I do like BB a lot. I think he is a pro bowl corner in our system. I just think he is at least somewhat system dependent. I don’t see him as a top 5 CB.

Oh, excuse me. It was a grammatical error or error in syntax instead of a typo. Thanks, Captain Grammar. I was being sarcastic about being new. I guess Captain Grammar missed that. If you knew what he meant then there was no good reason to whine about it. Or write the editor if you’re truly butt hurt about it.

I agree, WT has the talent to be a better cb than BB. But he isn’t there yet. I just think BB’s physicality, tackling, and forcing turnovers is a huge part of our D’s success. We’re pretty much on the same page.

Xcman–exactly. People were mad at BB in the Detroit and Miami games, but Bradley made him play off those games: BB was livid afterwards. I want my cake and eat it too; I want BB starting and WT in the slot!

I’ve had to go to over the air due to finances. Channel 5 is intermittent & I don’t get 7 at all. I may miss the next week’s game (unless i go to a bar); & will definitely miss 9/22 & 10/13. Can’t freakin’ Kiro boost their signal strength a bit? I get Komo & Kong fine & dandy in North Tacoma.

Does anyone know which local station will be broadcasting the NFL network games this year?

Just as I said, Seattle had to pass to set up the run to get a drive going.

Very Undisciplined game all the way round. But, great play from Lynch, Baldwin, Schofield, ET, and my man Kearse!

Thurmond ain’t no Browner; ‘buff said!” -STTBM

STTBM, I did read the whole thing. What in that comment was positive besides saying that you’ll take the win? It’s just my perception. I don’t think I’m the only one. You’re free to ignore it. I like your take as a whole regardless of whether it’s mostly negative or not. BTW, Kam had 6 solo tackles in the midst of being invisible.

some thought–
STTBM was accurate about the Kearse throw, he did have to hold up. And Williams had the ball but couldn’t hold on. It is not clear to me how good or how bad the passes were, but they were good enough as it happened. Could another defense have intercepted either? i think yes, er …maybe. Wilson did throw one or two really bad balls, but overall, i thought he played well
the defense really won this game imo
Carolina’s defense and plan worked well, but you could see they were tired at the end.
penalties–really amazing once again.
the grounding call was way off i thought, but i was a little confused by what i thought they gave as an explanation. i thought they said he was ruled as grounding it because he threw it out of bounds. can someone clarify this for me?
and i noticed that Newton was clearly still in the box when he threw it away a few plays later, but no call.

The QB must be out of the pocket AND the pass has to go beyond the line of scrimmage. The line judge determined the ball was behind the line when it crossed out of bounds even though it landed beyond the LOS. This was a judgment call by the official.

If the ball had remained in bounds it would have hit the ground beyond the LOS and it wouldn’t have been intentional grounding.

To get a grounding call you have to be in the box (between the tackles) and be under pressure, and not throw it as far as the LOS, or there’s not a receiver in the area. If you’re outside the box and you throw a forward pass, it’s either incomplete, intercepted, or a catch – but not grounding. Behind the LOS, outside the box you could spike the ball – it’s not grounding. No reason to sack yourself running outta bounds behind the LOS. If you’re inside the box and you throw to the LOS but there isn’t a receiver in the area it’s grounding. If you’re in the box and throw behind the LOS but there’s a receiver in the area it’s an incomplete screen, not grounding.

The most subjective part of Intentional Grounding is that the QB has to be outside the “tackle box”. The line of scrimmage is obviously defined at every play. No one really “marks” where the tackles are.

OK, that’s probably right, but it’s still up to the official to make that call and it’s not automatic, like running outta bounds with the ball.

“Rule 8.3.1 Intentional grounding will be called when a passer, facing an imminent loss of yardage because of pressure from the defense, throws a forward pass without a realistic chance of completion.
Note 1: The penalty is the sole responsibility of the referee and the protection of the passer is his primary responsibility; the flight of the ball is secondary. If there is any question, the referee should not call intentional grounding.
Note 2: Intentional grounding will not be called when a passer, while out of the pocket and facing an immenent loss of yardage, throws a forward pass that lands near or beyond the line of scrimmage, even if no offensive player(s) have a realistic chance to catch the ball (including if the ball lands out of bounds over the sideline or endline).
Note 3: A passer, after delaying his passing action for strategic purposes, is prohibited from throwing the ball to the ground directly in front of him, even though he is under no pressure from defensive rusher(s).
Note 4: A passer is permitted to stop the game clock legally to save time if immediately upon receiving the snap he begins a continuous throwing motion and throws the ball directly forward into the ground.
Note 5: If a defenders action on the passer significantly affects the normal throwing of a forward pass to a receiver, intentional grounding should not be called.”

Them’s the rules – and Note 2 says intentional grounding isn’t called when outta the box and you throw reaches near the LOS, but it also doesn’t say it has to be called if you don’t throw it to the LOS, and Note 3 doesn’t say you are prohibited from spiking the ball to your side (not directly in front of you) if you’re running outta bounds…

Three out of four of the three point favorites won today with Houston playing tomorrow night.

In the interest of full disclosure and knowing nobody really cares, it’s a good thing I didn’t go lot Las Vegas this week. I picked N.E., Pitt., Seattle, Indi., StL., & Houston to all win. I even picked the Steelers on my KJR Pro Survivor contest. Don’t listen to me.

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